Welcome to the Noctis Region, a place of unparalleled beauty and grace, rather it was a place of unparalleled beauty and grace until a fierce civil war broke out and drove the region to ruin. Many of the most crucial infrastructures have collapsed and lawlessness and corruption dominates the land.

It wasn't always like this though, the Noctis region was one the height of civilization to which all the other regions aspired to. The literacy rates were high, science and technology flourished, and most, if not all, the residents enjoyed a fairly high quality of life. Behind all of this success existed the royal family of the Noctis region who were elevated to royal status because they were the only one's who could purify the Guardian Sigils. The Guardian Sigils were a handful of elemental gems supposedly granted to the Noctis region by Arceus himself to transform previously uninhabitable land to a land of great wealth and prosperity.

The Royal Family was in possession of two of the sigils, the rest they left to the protection of 6 guardian families skilled in the elemental arts. This was done to prevent them as a preventative measure of sorts. If evil were to get their hands on any one sigil it would be a disaster, but if they got their hands on all 8 sigils then that would be a catastrophe. The sigils are the only known key to Mount Luna, the supposed resting spot of the legendary wish granter, Jirachi.

By scattering the 6 sigils among 6 of their most trusted families they ensured that no one person would possess all 8 sigils at one time. With the sigils safely in place among the 6 guardian families, how then did the Noctis region fall into such a corrupted state?

That's easy to answer: science outstripped humanity. Beginning at the turn of the century the head scientists of the royal family began to look at new ways to edit the human genome. Behind the royal family's back they began to experiment on the very outcasts of society. They built a lab and masqueraded it as a place for the mentally ill to get well, unbeknownst to the family of the patients that is not what happened. Gross abuses of human dignity occurred behind the walls of the asylum. It was hell for it's patients and many attempted to smuggle notes to the outside world and talk about what was going on behind closed doors. While no one ever formally investigated what went behind the asylum walls, people began to talk.

The whispers of unspeakable tragedies began to reverberate through the Noctis region and soon reached the ears of the Royal Family. The Royal Family ordered the asylum raided and found a shocking revelation. The scientists had managed to alter the DNA of the patients and turn them into type of human-pokemon chimera. Many had distinct pokemon like features and most even had the ability to use attacks that, formerly, only pokemon could use.

The Royal Family, shocked by their scientists betrayal, ordered the asylum shut down and tried to help the patients reintegrate into society. Unfortunately, they were not welcomed, but instead shunned. To the every day people of the Noctis region these people were abominations of nature and were to be feared. Soon after their freedom laws passed in quick succession to oppress and alienate them, and most, angry about what had been done to them formed terrorist organizations

The most well known of all of these was a group known as “The Forsaken”. They received money from an unknown benefactor and quickly began to terrorize the region. Angry at how the Royal Family had abandoned them they aimed to assemble all 8 of the rumored guardian sigils and wish for a reversal of the social order. The problem was, they only knew that the Royal Family had two of the sigils-- the Sigil of Shadow and the Sigil of Enchantment.

They attempted to extort the information from the royal family, but the Royal Family refused to give the information to them. Unable to learn anything else from the King and Queen they killed them. Their lone daughter seemed to have escaped, but her whereabouts are unknown. Without the Royal Family to perform the purification ritual necessary to keep the sigils blessing, the Noctis region soon succumbed to the horrors of war.

Why am I telling you this?

Because, you, are going to play a very important part to this story. You just don't know it yet. You've woken up in the crumbling remains of the asylum without a single memory. Your only hope to get your memories back is to ascend Mount Luna and wish for Jirachi's help. How do I know this? Well let's just say I am a messenger... and we'll be meeting very soon.

The girl sat at the table, her elbow propped up on the fine, finished surface. Her mahogany colored eyes were glazed over; she appeared bored, listless even as she stared down at the pale hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"Sweetheart, do sit up! A princess does not slouch in her chair."

The girl shifted her gaze upward to examine the woman, but did not lift her chin or turn to face her. Pale curls the color of corn silk cascaded down past the woman's thin shoulders. Her eyes, fixated earnestly on her daughter, radiated warmth. Though it was evident that she was trying to maintain an authoritative tone with the apathetic princess, the corners of her lips tugged upward into a forgiving smile. The girl sighed, rolling her eyes. This was just the way her mother was, take it or leave it. Her mother was kind to a fault, and didn't possess a mean bone in her entire body. It made interactions with her mother difficult, as whenever the girl was feeling volatile, and needed to express her rage, she found it impossible to raise her voice to her mother. The Queen would usually sink into a heap of self-despair and cry big, heaving sobs, and the girl's rage would evaporate into thin air as she stood, shaking her head in exasperation. It was obvious to anyone who happened upon the scene that the Queen cared deeply about her daughter's opinion of her. The girl's thoughts were interrupted as her mother leaned in, close to her ear, and whispered urgently,

"Darling, please! This is an important night for your father. You know that a lot is at stake here. For us, for our kingdom. If this alliance falls through tonight, I don't think that the people will be able to keep holding on."

The girl shifted in her seat, and sat up a little straighter. Across the table, over the thick shoulder of a big-bosomed woman wearing a golden gown, she caught sight of her reflection. A face with a chalky complexion peered anxiously back at her, the eyes wide, Doe-like. Though thick black curves lined the exterior of the girl's eyes, and her full lips reflected a succulent ruby, she still maintained the appearance of a young girl. In contrast to her mother, the girl did not boast soft, silken curls the color of ripened corn. Instead, a sheet of ebony fell just beyond her thin shoulders, the color so devoid of light that it was hard to look at for more than a few seconds. The girl's concentration was snapped away from the mirror as she registered her father's voice speaking.

"For centuries, the Noctis region has been the epitome of technology, the arts, and culture. We are considered the Theater capital of the world, and if you dig hard enough, you'll discover that many famous Actors and Actresses have called the Noctis region their home. Our Universities are some of the oldest and most respected institutions in the world. And our technology, oh don't get me started about our technology! Our technology is the crown jewel of the Noctis region!"

The man sitting to the left of her father nodded seriously, wrapping his index finger thoughtfully around the end of a thick, brown mustache.

"I have heard rumors that your Scientists are among the brightest minds in the entire dimension. If we were to become allies, the possibilities would be endless! We could launch a Space Exploration Launch Center and an Astronaut training institution. With our armies and your ingenuity, we could guarantee prosperity and protection for our citizens for generations to come."

A wisp of a smile crossed the girl's face.

That's it, dad. Way to win him over. She thought, relief flooding her body. Though nothing was set in stone, the girl was beginning to feel tiny sparks of hope strike up inside of her. With this alliance cemented between the Noctis and the Fiorre regions, the girl knew that an immense burden would be relieved of the citizens of Noctis. No more nights spent hunkered down in cellars, hidden behind crates of root vegetables. No more snuffing out candles, extinguishing fireplaces, and fearfully quashing even miniscule sources of light. No more frigid, sleepless nights spent clutching children and shushing babies, tearfully praying that the rebels passed by your house. For the girl, it meant a heightened sense of security, that soon she might be able to leave the walls of her castle and experience the sensation of living once again. All of a sudden, the massive Oaken doors that had sealed off the Banquet from outsiders were thrust open. A dank, chilly gust of wind ripped through the room from the great, drafty hallways, causing the girl to reflexively wrap her arms around her exposed shoulders. A man servant rushed in, his face drained of color. He looked as if he had just seen a dead man walking.

"Your majesty, I'm sorry to interrupt-" The man stammered.

The King's brow furrowed in frustration, and he glowered at the intruding man.

"Duncan, now is not the time! Can't you see that me and Mr. Hiroshi are in the middle of discussing politics?"

Duncan began to rapidly shake his head as he removed a lace handkerchief and began to dab at his forehead, which was dripping with perspiration.

"Your majesty, I beg your forgiveness, but you don't understand! The rebels have breached the Castle walls!"

No sooner had Duncan finished uttering his foreboding warning and the noble guests gasped when the lights cut off. For a moment, all that illuminated the petrified faces of the guests was the eery, flickering flames of the great fireplace. The girl remained silent, her nearly motionless body quivering in anticipation. Her eyes were fixed on the doors left slightly ajar, swaying gently as the cold air forced its way in from the hallway. A shattering sound caused the girl to turn her head, and the flames illuminated jagged shards of broken glass littered across the carpet. The next time she turned around, a leering face loomed inches away from her own. The girl drew in a sharp, startled breath, and a human face sporting the sharp, bony protrusions and elongated muzzle of a Houndoom stood grinning at her like a jack-o-lantern. The girl didn't utter a sound, just stood transfixed at the cruel, piercing nature of his crimson eyes. The last thing the girl registered was her mother's ear shattering scream. Then all became dark.

Call my name and save me from the dark...

The first thing she was aware of was the throbbing in her head. The dull, pulsating flashes of pain, the crushing pressure that felt as if her cranium was collapsing in on itself. She sat up, immediately regretting it as as the pressure in her head increased to the severity that she felt the air being vacuumed from her lungs. Dirty, matted locks the color of coal trailed down her face and hastily, she swatted them away. Now that her vision was no longer obscured, the girl slowly turned her head so as not to exacerbate the throbbing sensation. Alarmingly, she had no recollection of who she was, much less where she was currently located. She was vaguely aware of the sound of her ragged, uneven breathing, filling the roaring silence of the room with a labored loudness. She clasped her sweaty palms together, marveling at their clamminess. From what she could gather, her legs were folded stiffly against a cold concrete floor that leeched the human warmth from her body. Aside from herself, the floor was covered with tattered bits of wooden and metal debris, shredded, yellowed pieces of newspaper, intact glass vials and syringes, and ripped gowns soiled with dark stains. Aside from her breathing, a stifling silence permeated the ominous atmosphere. Though no windows were present in the enclosed space the girl found herself in, she found that the acuity of her vision had sharpened, that she could clearly make out the pieces of debris littering the floor, a sagging, lumpy mattress pushed against a wall on which were scrawled the words, "No sanctuary here". The girl froze, the blood in her veins becoming icy. Were her eyes deceiving her, or were the haunting words scrawled in old, faded blood? Unable to silence her breathing and feeling her airways beginning to close, the girl abruptly turned, feeling along the metal body of a door set into the wall, feeling desperately for a handle or a knob that would allow her to escape.

“Come on, Xiang. I heard they were serving soup today! If we don't hurry we won't get anything to eat!” A young woman with long, black hair tugged on his sleeve. He winced in pain. Xiang was still sore from yesterday's punishment as he'd been caught trying to steal food from the pantry. Yesterday's beating had been one of many he'd been on the receiving end of since entering through the doors of the orphanage.

“Give me a minute, okay?” Xiang murmured. Sun Sook had always been an excitable girl, and she often ended up in trouble because of it. Unfortunately, because of who Xiang was he often found himself on the receiving end of her punishments. It wasn't like he blamed her, had it not been for Sun Sook he might have died had she not attached herself to him.

Letting out a sigh he followed at her with a limp in his step. Xiang was a notoriously short boy for his age, but years of malnutrition had stunted his growth considerably. He was aware of the stares he would get from other children as he'd walk by. The silent whispers of utter disdain. How could they not stare? Xiang was an abomination wasn't he? Even he couldn't look himself in the mirror because he knew what he would see: a monster. It hadn't always been this way. At one point he might have considered himself normal: the son of two shrine priests in service to the Royal Family.

“Xiang Zhou! Hurry up!” Sun Sook called out to him. She had darted farther ahead and he gave her a meek smile.

“Go on without me, I'll be there shortly, okay?” He called out to her. Xiang wasn't really aware of how his life had changed so dramatically in the past few years, but it had and every day since then he had simply been doing his best to survive. Still, sometimes he preferred the inside of the asylum to the orphanage. It was still a struggle to survive, but at least in the asylum he never had to deal with the glares and the whispers. No one would ever ask him how he ended up as a lab rat, instead they just stared, and Xiang thought that was worse than actually asking.

Xiang wondered how much stronger he would have been if he had been normal. What would it would have been like to read and write, to go to school, to eat food regularly. Still, there was no malice in his cerulean eyes, a sign of his mixed heritage, that he hated the people who looked down on him. Xiang often read about the Forsaken and their terrorist exploits and regarded them with disdain. What good would killing people do? If anything that would make the people who were liberated from the asylum hated even more than they already were. The Forsaken were the reason Sun Sook had ended up here, and Xiang was surprised the girl looked at him like a human being instead of a monster.

Limping into the kitchen, he made his way to the soup line. He could feel the cold stares of resentment bearing down on him, and he didn't blame them. Most of the children here were orphaned because of the rebel chimera.

He looked up at the lunch lady, his warm smile returned with an icy glare, “One bowl of soup please.”

The lady snorted and begrudgingly gave him a half filled bowl. Xiang was used to the half portions. Sun Sook would huff how it wasn't fair and give her extra portions to him. It was almost routine. Today would be different though, Xiang just wasn't aware of it yet.

He limped his way to where Sun Sook had planted herself and was humming happily, “She gave you half portions again? Here take some of my bread then. I don't really like the bread here anyway. It's too stale.”

“Yeah... Thanks,” He smiled at her and hesitantly too the loaf of bread from her and sat down. Xiang's eyes darted to a group of boys glaring at him, but as soon as his eyes met theirs they turned away. Sun Sook huffed angrily

“If they're gonna glare at you they should at least have the guts to say something to your face!” The girl angrily huffed before taking a sip out of her soup. Xiang blinked at his companion.

Sun Sook looked down at his inquiry, “Yeah... But the way I feel is that if I hold you responsible for what happened to my parents then you'd have to hold me responsible for what happened to you. It's a never ending cycle of hate that doesn't get us anywhere.”

Sun Sook was right, and while he had been inclined to hate humans at first somewhere Sun Sook had made him realize that he could not hold everyone responsible for his misfortune. He would be no better than those who held him responsible for the Forsaken's actions. Hadn't a cycle of hate created the Forsaken in the first place?

“Yeah, you're right. Hate won't get us anywhere,” Xiang and Sun Sook smiled at each other, but a condescending voice broke the tender moment.

“You know seeing you interact with actual human beings makes me sick. They should have shot you all when they raided the lob,” One of the boys who had been glaring at him earlier had decided he had had enough and approached the two. Xiang's ears reflexively folded backward. He couldn't deny that those words hurt, but had he not thought those things about himself a million times?

“Apologize!” Sun Sook suddenly stood up angrily. Suddenly all eyes in the cafeteria were on them. Even the adults in the room simply stood by and watched, “Apologize to Xiang right now!”

The older boy cast his ebon eyes to Sun Sook and scoffed and suddenly picked Xiang up the hem of his shirt. The smaller boy struggled in his grasp, but didn't say a word.

“Why should I? It's because of the freaks like him that we're all in here!” The boys voice was laced with malice and Xiang was preparing himself for another beating, “The fact that he thinks he has the right to eat in the same room as us really pisses me off!”

“Let him go, Lewis! Xiang hasn't done anything to us!” Sun Sook protested trying to pry the elder boys massive hands off Xiang. Unfortunately, she wasn't as strong as the massive boy that towered over her and her efforts were in vain.

“No, he has, his very existance is an abomination unto Arceus himself! One of these days he's going to kill us and eat us just like the Forsaken do with the people they take hostage! He's no different than the rest of the monsters!”

Every word Lewis said cut into Xiang's chest like a knife. What had he done to be so detested, so looked down upon by these people? Up until a few years ago, he was human too! Xiang trembled and tried to pry the other off of him, but like Sun Sook, he was too weak.

“And you know what? I'm going to do what the Royal Family should have done when they raided the place!” Instantly Xiang saw a gleam of metal in the boys free hand. Was this how it was going to end? Was he going to die here? Was no one going to step in? His eyes looked around the room and everyone seemed to be egging Lewis to do it, even the adults. Xiang hesitantly shut his eyes and felt the sharp pain of metal cutting through his left eye.

Finally he let out a shriek of pain and clutched his eye. Lewis removed the blade and was going to aim for the other one when suddenly the adults in the room restrained him. Lewis dropped Xiang to the floor and Xiang instinctivly curled into a bawl clutching his bleeding eye.

“Xiang!” Xiang could hear Sun Sook's voice, but it seemed so distance. He felt his vision blackening, but before passing out he could hear Lewis screams they too seemed distant, “Xiang stop, you're going to kill him!” Sun Sook cried.

That was the last thing Xiang heard before he blacked out.

It's always darkest before the dawn...

When Xiang awoke he wasn't aware of what had happened, but his head was absolutely pounding. He tried to assess his bearings... His name was Xiang Zhou, but anything after that he was drawing a blank. Who was he? Classified. Where was he from? Classified. Why was he here? Ultra classified. Xiang sat up and he instantly knew that was a bad idea, but he knew he couldn't just lay here.

Mainly because he felt like something was watching him... And it wasn't friendly. The boy got to his feet and fumbled around in the dark for a little while untl his eyes slowly grew accustomed to the dark. He had woken up in some type of...morgue? He could vaguely make out a metal rinsing table in the middle of the room that had been left to rust. He could also make out fallen ceiling and wall tiles. In fact, he could see a giant hole in the wall. What ever this place had been, it clearly hadn't been in use for a long time.

Xiang could also pick up the distinct scent of rotting human flesh, although he wasn't sure why or how he recognized such a scent, but he didn't want to stick around to find out. Vaguely he could make out a rusted steel door across the room.

Xiang was surprisingly calm despite the fact that he had woken up in a strange place, it was as if he'd been here before. Still he couldn't fight the cold sweat that was forming on the back of his neck. He wasn't sure how much longer he could remain calm if he didn't get out of here.

He stumbled his way to the door and put a slender hand to the door. The door handle appeared to work, but as he turned the door a creeping feeling made it's way down his spine.

“One of us...” A garbled voice whispered in his ear. Instantly he felt the slam of a palm on his back and any sort of peace he may have felt was shattered. He forced open the door and bolted up the stairs.

The stairs exited into what appeared to be a hallway. Xiang's eyes squinted at the sudden burst of light, but for the first time he could properly make out where he was or at least... He thought he could, but the building he'd woken up in appeared to be in the middle of no where. There were no visible buildings in the distance, it was just jungle as far as the eye could see. Xiang could detect the slight hint of sea salt in the air though, which meant they were definitely near the ocean. An island maybe?

Hesitantly he kept pressing forward because he certainly didn't want what was ever in the morgue to catch up to him. He wasn't sure if he was going to find anyway here, but it was worth a shot. He searched room after room to no avail. Having all but given up hope he opened one last door, but he was granted a warm surprise when he opened it.

Xiang had come face to face with a girl's back, “Um... Hello?” He called out meekly. Afraid if he reached out to her he might startle her.

The little boy was bent over at the waist, his small shoulders braced in determination, his facial features contorted by sheer willpower. It was only once the stubborn weed released its choke hold on the damp, tilled earth that the child relaxed, his shoulders going slack and his eyes slowly opening to the paradise around him. The child appeared to be but one of hundreds of rainbow blossoms in bloom and just as the flora surrounding him, he stretched his arms eagerly to the sun, drinking in the warm, bountiful light.

"That's it, Willow. Stretch it out! You want to keep those limbs nice and loose! You don't want to end up stooped over like your old granny!"

The child giggled, casting a doubtful look at the old woman, but nonetheless standing on his tiptoes and forcing his spry young body to extend even further. Willow knew that his grandmother was permanently hunched over from skeletal problems in her back that had gone untreated when she was a young girl, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Willow snaked his way through the garden, parting large, umbrella-like leaves that belonged to sunflowers and side-stepping past the bright sunbursts of the marigolds, his grandmother's favorite flower. Though the sun beat down, scorching the backs of their arms, a cool breeze whistled through the gardens where they worked every once in a while, and though Will couldn't be positive, he could swear that he was able to hear the tiny tunes sung by a thousand tiny blossoms who were enjoying a bright summer's day.

Willow moved like a Taillow, hopping from foot to tiny foot, flapping his arms occasionally as he struggled to keep his balance. The child soon reached the old woman, whose back was now turned to him. She wore a sleeveless button-up white blouse and denim overalls. A wide-brimmed straw hat rested on the crown of her head, and as she turned to face him, the wrinkles in her face became prominent as she stretched her lips into a wide, toothless grin.

"Come here a minute, Willow. I need your help with something."

The old woman pointed to a dusty, dejected-looking plant that was sagging in on itself. The leaves were shriveled up and brown, looking as if they could wither and blow away in the wind at any moment. The blossom, once a vibrant mane of coral tinged with neon orange, stooped so low, it nearly touched the ground. Willow could sense that this plant was fading fast. With empathetic tears welling up in his eyes, Willow kneeled, his bony knees pressing against the soft, damp earth. Willow reached out a small, dirty hand, and caressed the flower's stem. Slowly, the clear, melodic voice of a child rang out:

"Please let me take you out of the darkness, and into the light. ‘Cause I have faith in you that you're gonna make it through another night. Stop thinking about the easy way out- There's no need to go and blow the candle out."

The blossom had slowly begun to lift its wilted head from the ground, and was perking up, craning itself toward Willow's general direction. The old woman gasped in delight, her leathery hands, rough from years of planting and harvesting, clasping over her mouth to hide her awe. As many times as she had seen her grandson perform this miracle of Arceus, each time she witnessed it felt like the very first time. But the child wasn't finished. His voice continued, strong and sweet:

"Because you're not done; you're far too young- And the best is still to come..."

As Willow finished his song, the last few pure notes hung in the air, reverberating, and the child realized that the chorus of birds twittering and insects chirping had silenced; that the meadow had become hushed as every living creature strained to absorb the pureness of his song. The formerly wilted Dahlia stood fully erect, good as new, the stem shining with a newfound brightness, the delicate leaves unfurled. Every flower in a mile's radius had turned to face Willow, and in return, Willow gave a bashful smile. The old woman swiftly picked up Willow, as she had his mother in her youth, and kissed him feverishly on his cheeks.

"Willow, you truly are one of Arceus' most precious and beautiful gifts."

The little boy closed his eyes, soaking in the wholeness and harmony that radiated from this moment in time.

Unbeknownst to him, a woman who had been observing shook her head. She too wore a straw-brimmed hat and held a trowel in her hand, shaking her head disapprovingly as she brushed the dirt from her jeans.

"That child isn't well, and neither is that old kook that he spends so much time with. I know that he's been through a lot; it's never easy on a child when he loses his mother, but it's been seven months since Maria lost her battle and he's still walking around the gardens talking to the flowers like they have something important to say!" The woman shook her head, her voice soft with concern as she turned to the man next to her.

"Somebody should talk with his father. It just isn't natural for a kid to spend more time with flowers than he does with his own kin, and he's getting to the age where people are going to start asking questions."

The man straightened up, and used the back of dirt-encrusted hand to wipe the sweat dripping from his brow.

"I hear ya’. Tomorrow, we'll go out and pay Martin a visit. The man is still shook up with grief, but even he can't deny what's going on right before his very eyes. We owe it to Maria to talk to him. Willow was her heart and soul, and we won't let him slip away; we just can't."

Three days later, Willow sat outside the small cottage where he lived with his father. Before his mother’s life had been snuffed out from the horrible disease called cancer, they had lived in a beautiful, spacious Victorian-style home set on the outskirts of the royal family’s castle. Willow’s mother and father had been entrusted by the King and Queen with a sacred duty; planning and executing the landscaping of the castle grounds, which included the royal gardens. It was said that Willow’s mother had been chosen for this high honor by the Queen herself, who had always had a soft spot for exuberant blossoms and the Pokemon that they attracted. Willow’s mother was known far and wide for being able to coax even the tiniest blossoms into full, magnificent blossoms. She preferred to work alone, with Willow toddling along behind her, so he was the only one who knew how she managed to achieve such vibrant blooms: by talking to them. When his mother had passed away, Willow’s father had immediately moved them further out into the country, several miles away from the castle grounds were they had lived originally. Although the King and the Queen had insisted on them staying in the Victorian home for as long as their family line continued, the echoing hallways proved to be too much for Martin, Willow’s father. Now, they lived and worked far away from the royal castle, the only home that Willow had ever known. Martin, Willow, and Willow’s grandmother worked mostly in meadows that had been transformed into gardens belonging to the royal family. It was here that thousands of flowers were planted and cultivated, the most exquisite of which would be transplanted to the royal gardens at the castle.

Willow kicked his legs out, providing the momentum needed for the small wooden swing to propel itself forward. It was true that his new home was smaller, but he didn’t mind too much. Willow had always preferred to be outside anyways, among the trees and flowers and Grass-type Pokémon that were native to this area of Noctis. As Willow swung, his body carried high above the surrounding Irises; a Taillow perched atop the swing set whistled a merry tune, turning his head to examine the boy beneath him. Suddenly, the Taillow looked up, his beady black eyes growing wide with alarm. Hopping from foot to foot, the bird began shrieking, giving out a warning call. The Taillow hopped off of the swing set, stretching his wings to take flight just as a large, white van pulled into the unpaved driveway. The van stopped abruptly in front of the stepping stones leading to the front door of the cottage. Willow pressed his bare feet into the dirt, his inquisitive eyes surveying the van.

“Dad!”

The child shouted, never taking his eyes off of the van. Soon, the boy’s father, a tall, sturdy man with his hair cropped short and studious eyes that were set close together emerged, his pace quickening as he caught sight of the van. As Willow’s father reached the boy’s side, a man in a crisp, white button-up shirt and khakis emerged from the driver’s side of the man, making notes on a metal clipboard.

“Willow! You aren’t well!” The man hissed, tears beginning to fill his eyes. Willow became acutely aware of how tired and worn down his father looked.

“Dad, please don’t send me away! I promise I’ll be good. I won’t be any more trouble, I swear!” Willow pleaded with his father, his tiny hands clutching his father’s broad shoulders, his lower lip quivering.

“Willow, you are the best son a father could ever ask for, but I need you to get better. I don’t want you to end up like your old man.” Willow’s father gave him a tight squeeze, and then turned to face the attendant who was rapidly approaching the pair.

“Dad, don’t make me leave! I won’t talk to the Pokemon anymore. I won’t sing to the flowers! Please, dad! I don’t want to be alone!”

“Willow, these people are going to take good care of you. They’ll help you get better. They’ll help you like I wasn’t able to. Now please, go. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

The attendant approached Willow, and forced a smile.

“Come on now, son. You’ll be safe with me.”

As the attendant pulled on Willow’s small arm, the boy erupted into tears, jerking away and wrapping his tiny form around his father’s long leg.

“Please, dad! I can’t do this without you!”

Willow’s father turned away, burying his face into his hands. Willow was vaguely aware of the attendant’s hands on his back, forcefully pulling him away from his father. Willow began to sob, screaming uncontrollably.

“GET AWAY FROM ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

As Willow was dragged along the dirt pathway, the blades of grass bordering the driveway began to dry up and brown. A Bulbasaur emerged from the undergrowth and began to furiously head-butt the leg of the attendant. Still, the attendant persisted, finally reaching the van with the struggling child. He opened the doors at the back of the van and wrenched them open. He easily picked up the boy, who was as light as a feather, and tossed him into the back. As the boy landed on the padded floor, the attendant slammed the doors shut. Willow scrambled to his knees and crawled frantically to the small windows in the back doors. His dad had turned his back to the van, but the door to the cottage was opening. An old woman stumbled out of the house and into the sunlight.

“GRANNY!”

Willow shouted, pounding his tiny fists desperately on the glass.

“GRANNY, HELP ME!”

The old woman’s pace quickened, her aged body carrying her as quickly as it could to the driveway.

Suddenly, the van accelerated, and Willow was thrown to the floor from the force. As she scrambled back to his knees, he caught a final glimpse of his grandmother. As she reached the dirt pathway, her footsteps faltered, and as her balance was upset, she tumbled to the ground. As she struggled to rise, she extended a hand toward the direction the van was traveling. Willow collapsed in a heap on the floor, his small body beginning to shudder as sobs wracked his body. His eyes darted around the enclosed area anxiously. Just where were they taking him?

When Willow awoke, his initial thought was that he had woken on a bed of discarded needles. His skin felt as if it was being jabbed mercilessly on every square inch that was exposed. Willow sat up, his body breaking out into a cold sweat as he glanced at his surroundings, obviously disoriented. Willow gingerly patted the ground, realizing that it wasn’t a bed of needles that he had awoken on, but a dried, brittle mound of dead grass. As Willow rose to his feet and began to take in his surroundings, he made a grim discovery. As far as the eye could see, the grass had browned and died. The trees were barren, void of any leaves and looked skeletal. The tangled undergrowth of bushes and plants that was a staple feature of forests in the Noctis region had shriveled up and perished. To Will’s eyes, the scene was as grotesque and horrifying as seeing a field littered with bloody corpses.

Willow rubbed his eyes, and his nose twitched. The long, leafy appendages that served as Willow’s ears perked up. The sweet, tantalizing scent of pheromones were wafting down from an enormous, crumbling structure with hundreds of windows that sat upon a gently sloping hill to Will’s left. Another scent, this one muskier and laced with testosterone was mingled in with the pheromones. A male and a female. Judging from the scent, about his age. Willow could distinguish from the scent that these two were not fully human, like himself. The scent of a human was not nearly as potent as the scent of a chimera. It was diluted, mellow, and oftentimes intermingled with perfumes, soaps, or deodorants that reeked. The scent of a chimera was potent, gamey, and ultimately enticing to Willow’s primitive nose. Willow ran a hand through his tousled mane of hair, and sighed, conflicted. Did he really want to tangle himself up in the affairs of others? Willow saw himself as a loner, and had never cared much for being part of a group. Still, there were no guarantees that he would even be welcomed by the other chimera in the building. Besides, from what his nose had picked up on in the pheromones of the female, she was terrified out of her mind. And Will was not the kind of guy who could just walk away from a creature in need. Who knew what kind of trouble she might be in? Cursing his noble predisposition, Willow slowly made his way through the deteriorating landscape, his sights set on a large, gaping hole in the lower level of the crumbling building.

Ryosuke never really questioned his life style. If he could have stayed flitting through from place to place he would have. Initially he saw no reason to stay committed to one place for long, but after the fighting with the Forsaken started he decided staying out of the bigger cities was best. He had heard horror stories of what the chimera were doing to any humans they found.

He wondered briefly if his parents were alright. Ryosuke hadn't seen his parents or his little sister since his parents decided that him being gay was too much a shame on the family. His story wasn't necessarily unique to Noctis. For all the progress the Noctis region seemed to boast it was staunchly conservative on LGBT+ issues. Ryosuke had been told by his parents that his homosexuality was an abomination and not something that Arceus had intended, and then they kicked him out.

Since then he had been flitting from place to place, job to job. Ryosuke didn't really see the need to settle down. He was alone no matter what he did. Besides, he was always looking for a party. He would frequent many of the popular Noctis region underground gay bars. Drugs, booze, and dudes had been his life the past two and half years. It was a way of coping that his family had abandoned him.

Sighing he sat down on his bed, staring at the mirror across from him. His reflection had been rather ragged and worn until recently. Everything had been duller until recently, but ever since he'd met him things in his life had seemed to perk up. A frequent customer at a local gay bar.. a man with finally toned muscles and honey-colored hair.

Ryosuke smiled to himself just thinking about those emerald hues! He'd been given such a new lease on life and would eagerly look for his crush every night at work. Truth be told his crush had been his only reason for staying in this dingy town. There wasn't much fun to be had here, but the thought that he could have a prospective relationship with enough for him to stay around.

He flinched out of his thoughts as a knock on the door to his apartment breached the quiet of the night air, “C-coming, dear!” Butterflies instantly assailed his stomach. So he had come! Ryo had briefly proposed to his crush that they could go to the bar together. Ryo had managed to snag a job there and had promised the object of his affection free booze if he could escort him every night. It had gotten a bit dodgey traveling at night with the Forsaken running around now a days. Luckily, his crush had agreed.

“Sorry for making you wait, Tanken,” Ryo opened the door and flashed a warm smile at the other. The other flashed him his signature toothy grin that Ryo just loved.

“Hey, no problem man. Let's go then. I want to get there before it gets to crowded. Ryo nodded feeling his heart skip a beat. His life seemed so much more colorful now that Tanken was in it.

The club he worked out was a major gay bar in the area. It always played up beat pop music that Ryo thought was kind of tacky, but what could you do? Today was one of their busier days, but instantly when Ryo stepped into the club he sensed something was horribly wrong. The atmosphere was heavy with a sort of unexplainable tension.

And that's when the sound of gun fire rang out and Tanken pushed him to the floor, “Get down!” The other male cried. What was going on? Bullets bounced off the walls and he heard one person shriek in pain as a bullet hit him. The upbeat techno pop music served as an almost haunting backdrop to the carnage going on around him.

“We need to take cover before a stray bullet hits us,” Tanken whispered to Ryo. Ryo was too scared to move though. His body suddenly felt extremely heavy. What was going on? Ryosuke's black eyes skimmed the room to try and found the source of the chaos...

A lone figure stood in the middle of the room with an Ak-47 slaughtering any living creature he could find. It was then that he saw it: A Salamence tail protruding out of his body and twitching with excitement

“All humans shall die! The Forsaken shall rule!” The psychopath in the middle of the room cried. It was then that Tanken yanked Ryosuke behind the bar.

“Stay perfectly quietly... I don't think he's seen us,” Tanken whispered as he covered Ryo's mouth. The two dared not to even breath yet make a sound. Ryo shut his eyes as he heard the gunman's footsteps reverberate on the wooden floor. He was coming up to the bar? Did he see them? Was he gonna finish the job?

Step, step, step...

Please Arceus if you have any mercy at all... Ryosuke thought to himself. The gunmen was going to be behind the bar soon. This was it, this was how he was going to die, or so he thought before a lone woman's shriek's filled the room as another lone survivor of the massacre attempted to make a bolt for the bar.

And Ryosuke's blood ran cold as the gunmen cackled and the sound of gunshots filled the air. He heard the sickening sound of cold steel cutting through flesh and shattering bone. He was gonna be sick...

What made him even more frightened was the gunmen's complete lack of empathy. Was this the power of the Forsaken? He had originally felt empathy for them, but why had they decided to attack the one community that might have understood their plight? They were psychopaths!

He could hear the gunmen's footsteps retreating and relief flooded his body. He felt his consciousness fade. Tanken's voice seemed so distance.

There are words you couldn't hear, and they stab your heart so endlessly. From the deepest cut a fluid runs, and burns up everything in it's path. Let's call it love.

When Ryo awoke immediately he felt his senses being assailed by the familiar feeling of ice water. He shot up and screeched, “What the hell?” He swore. He was utterly soaked to the bone, “Ugh, it must have been some party last night! I can't remember a thing—Wait... I can't remember a thing!”

Is this some sick punishment for taking LSD or something? Come on Arceus, a little bit of acid never harmed anyone--....

Getting to his feet he swore at himself for thinking a tub of ice water was the best thing to sleep off a damned hangover. His body ached and he could swear he was dragging around an extra twenty pounds.

Wait a sec...

Cerulean hues glanced behind him and he let out a high pitched shriek, “T-tail?! V-vaporean?! What the hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”